I Was Delighted When I Caught
Sight Of An Ibis, But Was Surprised At The Comparatively Small
Number Of Birds; Having Been Accustomed To The Immense Flocks Which
Congregate On The Banks Of Indian Rivers.
Our arrival at a village alone relieved the monotony of the landscape.
Some of these places were prettily situated
Under groves of dates
and wild fig trees, and they occasionally boasted houses of a decent
description; the majority were, however, most wretched, and we were
often surprized to see persons respectably dressed, and mounted upon
good-looking donkeys, emerge from streets and lanes leading to the
most squalid and poverty-stricken dwellings imaginable. The arrival of
a boat caused all the beggars to hasten down to the river-side;
these chiefly consisted of very old or blind persons. We had provided
ourselves with paras, a small copper coin, for the purpose of giving
alms to the miserable beings who solicited our charity, and the poor
creatures always went away well satisfied with the trifling gift
bestowed upon them.
Every morning, the janissary and the Arab captain of the boat came to
the door of the cabin to pay their respects; with the latter we could
not hold much communication, as he did not speak a word of English; we
were, nevertheless, excellent friends. He was very good-humoured,
and we were always laughing, so that a bond of union was established
between us. He had once or twice come into such close contact with
some of our crockery-ware, as to put me in a fright, and the comic
look, with which he showed that he was aware of the mischief he had
nearly done, amused me excessively. He was evidently a wag, and from
the moment in which he discovered the congeniality of our feelings,
when any droll incident occurred, he was sure to look at us and laugh.
The janissary spoke very tolerable English, and after sunset, when we
seated ourselves outside the cabin-door, he came forward and entered
into conversation. He told us that a quarrel having taken place
between the boatmen of a small vessel and the people of a village, the
former came on board in great numbers in the night, and murdered six
of the boatmen; and that on the affair being represented to the Pasha,
he sent three hundred soldiers to the village, and razed it to the
ground. He said that he had been in the service of several English
gentlemen, and had once an opportunity of going to England with a
captain in the navy, but that his mother was alive at that time, and
when he mentioned his wishes to her, she cried, and therefore he
could not go. The captain had told him that he would always repent not
having taken his offer; but though he wished to see England, he was
glad he had not grieved his mother. He had been at Malta, but had
taken a dislike to the Maltese, in consequence of a wrong he had
received, as a stranger, upon his landing.
Amongst the noblemen and gentlemen whom he had served, he mentioned
the Marquess of Waterford. We asked him what sort of a person he was,
and he immediately replied, "A young devil." Mohammed, who had been
in various services with English travellers, expressed a great desire
to go to England; he said, that if he could once get there, he would
"never return to this dirty country." Both he and the janissary
apparently had formed magnificent ideas of the wealth of Great
Britain, from the lavish manner in which the English are accustomed to
part with their money while travelling.
We inquired of Mohammed concerning the magician, whose exploits Mr.
Lane and other authors have recorded. At first, he did not understand
what we meant; but, upon further explanation, told us that he thought
the whole an imposture. He said, that when a boy, about the age of the
Arab captain's son, who was on board, he was in the service of a lady
who wished to witness the exhibition, and who selected him as the
medium of communication, because she said that she knew he would
tell her the truth. The ceremonies, therefore, commenced; but though
anxiously looking into the magic mirror, he declared that he saw
nothing: afterwards, he continued, "A boy was called out of the
bazaar, who saw all that the man told him." But while Mohammed
expressed his entire disbelief in the power of this celebrated person,
he was not devoid of the superstition of his creed and country, for
he told us that he knew of another who really did wonderful things. He
then asked us what we had called the Mughreebee whom we had described
to him: we replied, a magician; and he and the janissary repeated
the word over many times, in order to make themselves thoroughly
acquainted with it. In all cases, they were delighted with the
acquisition of a new word, and were very thankful to me when I
corrected their pronunciation. Thus, when the janissary showed me what
he called kundergo, growing in the fields, and explained that it
made a blue dye, and I told him that we called it indigo, he never
rested until he had learned the word, which he repeated to Mohammed
and Mohammed to him. I never met with two more intelligent men in
their rank of life, or persons who would do greater credit to their
teachers; and brief as has been my intercourse with the Egyptians, I
feel persuaded, that a good method of imparting knowledge is all that
is wanting to raise them in the scale of nations.
During our progress up the river, I had been schooling myself,
and endeavouring to keep down my expectations, lest I should be
disappointed at the sight of the Pyramids. We were told that we should
see them at the distance of five-and-thirty miles; and when informed
that they were in view, my heart beat audibly as I threw open the
cabin door, and beheld them gleaming in the sun, pure and bright
as the silvery clouds above them.
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